blog

Last week I had some of my work photographed by the expert craft photographer Yeshen Venema. The experience was both enlightening and enjoyable. I got to witness the photographer's process from behind the scenes - seeing how he manipulated the light to provide an even coverage; preventing unwanted reflections and shadows. A lot of the [...]

I'm endlessly inspired by the sea and my visits to the beach, even if I don't actually fancy a swim right now! But recently I've been enjoying the local hills and woods, whilst the trees are damp and the skies are gloomy. On some walks through the Sussex downs I've been finding a lot of joy [...]

I was a tad busy this Autumn/Winter. If I try to put it all down I realise it looks a bit like a Christmas round robin letter - a lengthy listing of what I've been up to, regardless of the audience! So, no obligation - feel free to enjoy only the pictures and skip the rest! I [...]

I've been developing an idea based on buoys (the kind that are often used by boats, or on fishing nets) and particularly the broken and tangled versions I sometimes found washed up on the beach. I wanted to make something that took elements of the buoy and the open shape of a vessel. I also wanted to [...]

My latest firing included porcelain pieces glazed in the new green colours that I've been focusing on, along with the dark, almost black clay vessels that I make. The glaze has a small amount of iron oxide added to give it the green tint. A larger amount of iron is added to the same glaze for [...]

I have a special liking for slightly deserted landscapes with that abandoned dilapidated look going on. Dungeness on the Kent coast has to be my favourite place to experience this kind of atmosphere. It's a massive coastal 'desert' where fishing boats lie stranded on the vast stretch of shingle, slowly rusting and weathering away. There [...]

Over the last few months, along with other things, I've been working on developing a new range of teabowls which will feature various complementary glazes.There's something very special about the teabowl, with it's handle-less form, that seems to make you engage with the vessel, and its contents, more intensely. It's a simple concept but can be created [...]

Some test pieces from my latest firing My latest firing included a mix of pieces heading for galleries and forthcoming shows. It also included some tests to try out different clay body mixes and surface treatments. Some of the new test pieces explore a different look to the light celadons and dark pieces that I make. I'm [...]

I've been experimenting again. In fact I think I'm always experimenting a bit. I always want to try out things and ideas that are new to me, so I rarely spend a day in the workshop without trying out a variation on a shape, a new glaze recipe, or a new clay body. Recently I've been [...]

Last week I visited Kim Bagley's solo show 'Africa and the West' at the James Hockey gallery in Farnham. Kim has been working towards a PhD in Ceramics at the University of the Creative Arts in Farnham and this is her major exhibition. Kim started her PhD studies at the same time as I started studying [...]